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Fiji heroics against England inspired Samoa in heartbreaking loss
By PA
Samoa head coach Seilala Mapusua wants his players to be more clinical at the World Cup, having been inspired by Fiji’s historic Twickenham win over England earlier on Saturday.
Samoa came close to claiming their own historic win against World No.1s Ireland, only to ulimately fall to a 17-13 defeat in miserable conditions in Bayonne.
Second-half tries from Conor Murray and Rob Herring saw Ireland scrape a record 13th straight win after Samoa threatened an upset at Stade Jean Dauge by battling back to lead following Jimmy O’Brien’s maiden Test score.
Mapusua’s men complete their Pool D campaign against Steve Borthwick’s side in Lille in early October.
“There’s definitely a lot to take from today,” he said. “We’ll take a lot of confidence out of that.
“A harsh lesson to learn but we’ve got to nail our opportunities when we get them.
“At the World Cup, we might only get one (chance) in a game, so we’ll definitely take those lessons on board.
“Seeing Fiji not just beat England but in the manner they did, was really inspiring for all of us Pacific islands.
“It’s encouraging to see where our teams in the Pacific are heading. It was awesome to see them make history today.
additional reporting RugbyPass
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At some point you have to say Reiko has spilt the ball/turned over/over run/ not passed too many times to keep him there. Every game it seems like another crucial moment is lost due to one of his individual errors.
Go to commentsAny penalty for head contact should see the affected player leave the field immediately for an HIA. You can't have it both ways. Either the rule is there to protect players or it's not.
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